Zecco vs Ameritrade: Commissions, Fees and Investments
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- Stocks and ETFs: $4.95
- Stocks and ETFs priced under $1: $6.95
- Stocks and ETFs broker assisted: $19.95
- Options: $4.95 plus $0.65 per contract
- Options exercises and assignments: $4.95
- Mutual Funds: $10
- Forex: spreads as low as 1-2 pips for most major currency pairs
- Bonds: $4.50 per bond, with $22.50 minimum per transaction
- Treasury: $24.50 per transaction
- Investments: stocks, mutual funds, options, Forex, Bonds, Treasury bonds, ETFs
- Minimum to open Zecco account: $0
- All Zecco fees
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- Stocks and ETFs: $9.99
- Stocks and ETFs broker assisted: $49.99
- Stocks and ETFs Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Telephone System: $34.99
- Options: $9.99 plus $0.75 per contract
- No-load mutual funds: $49.99
- Treasuries at auction: $25 flat fee
- All other bonds and CMOs, CDs: on a net yield basis
- Futures: $3.50 per contract (inclusive of exchange fees)
- Investment products: stocks, bonds, mutual funds, options, ETFs, bonds, CDs, UITs, futures and forex
- Minimum to open TD Ameritrade account: $0 for cash account, $2,000 for margin account
- All TD Ameritrade fees
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- Very low commissions
- No account minimum, maintenance or inactivity fees
- Free streaming data
- Free dividend reinvestment
- Great online community
- Could open account with no money down
- No surcharge for large orders
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- No surcharges on penny stocks, large orders and after-hours trading
- Large and well known company with many local branches
- Very good trading platform
- Free IRA accounts
- No maintenance and inactivity fees
- Free streaming quotes
- Large selection of independent, third-party research (S&P, Morningstar Associates, and ResearchTeamTM)
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- $2 per trade surcharge on penny stocks
- $30 annual IRA fee
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- $9.99 commission for stocks/ETFs and $49 commission for mutual funds are high
- Occasional poor order execution
- The website is sometimes very slow or even down on the high volume days
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TD Ameritrade vs Zecco: Comparison Summary
TD Ameritrade (Ameritrade Review)
is more than twice as expensive as
Zecco (Zecco Review) for stock and ETF trades:
$9.99 per trade at the former versus $4.95 per trade at the later. Mutual funds transactions are $10 at Zecco and
very steep $50 at TD Ameritrade!
Both online brokerage firms
don't have account inactivity, maintenance or hidden fees and surcharge on large orders.
Zecco offers its clients a vibrant trader community, free streaming quotes and dividend reinvestment as well as
access to Forex market. Unfortunately, the firm has a $2 per trade surcharge on penny stock orders.
Unlike Zecco, TD Ameritrade does not charge an annual $30 IRA fee and therefore is a more attractive choice for a retirement
account for people who rarely trade.
With much lower commissions, more free services and better website reliability,
Zecco beats TD Ameritrade in our comparison. Zecco, however, did not made it into our list of
Top Brokerage Firms in 2012.
TD Ameritrade would be our recommendation for an IRA account as well as for anyone wanting to invest only with a large, well-known firm.
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